Take A Guess
by Songbird's Call
Summary: A major storm hits the Island, and Soul, Little Star, and Bo can't go anywhere, not that they want to. How can they pass the time and calm a frightened Little Star? Part of the Sodor's Engines RP Writing Challenge.


**Summary: A major storm hits the Island, and Soul, Little Star, and Bo can't go anywhere, not that they want to. How can they pass the time and calm a frighted Little Star?**

 **Note: This was written for the Sodor's Engines RP Writing Challenge. This is the original prompt:**

 **"A group of engines are trapped somewhere for the night, and no help can come until morning. How do these engines pass the time? Use three or four engines, at least one of which must be my (The Broken Mask's) characters. Maximum of 5,000 words. Engine characters only. Human characters may be mentioned but must not speak."**

 **This story is 1,687 words long, not including this author's note, which will be over in a moment.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing. Bo is Saber The F4U Corsair's. Soul is The Broken Mask's. Technically, Little Star is also The Broken Mask's, but I'm RPing her, so I guess I half own her.**

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The clouds above the Island of Sodor were colored a deep grey, almost black. The wind was starting to howl and the rain starting to fall as a small tank engine raced down the tracks in a heavily wooded area. The man in her cab, George, shoveled a couple of shovels full of coal into her firebox as the lady lying on her footplate, Kate-Lynn, moaned slightly. George briefly knelt down to check on his cousin before standing back up and opening the regulator one more notch, causing the tank engine to speed up. As George looked down the track ahead of them, a voice came from what seemed to be all around him.

"Is she going to be okay?"

George sighed deeply and reassured the voice that he thought she would. The engine and owner of the voice, Little Star, shivered as a strong breeze filtered through the trees. She wasn't made like most other engines. She was made in secret with old engine parts quite some time ago. Most of her was rusted and mismatched, almost like a patchwork quilt. At first she seemed frightening, but once you got to know her, she was very nice.

Moments later, Little Star felt herself slowing down as a small shed appeared at the edge of a clearing. George quickly guided her into the shed, facing another engine that looked somewhat similar to her, but larger. This was Soul Catcher, or Soul for short, Little Star's older sister. To her right was another engine that was a lot larger than either of them. He was a 4-8-8-4 Union Pacific Big Boy with black and grey livery. This was Bo, Soul Catcher's boyfriend. George jumped down from Little Star's cab, carrying Kate-Lynn, and quickly walked to the back of the shed. There, the cousins had set up a small living space with a couple of cots, a table, and a set of shelves holding things like food and medical supplies. George laid Kate-Lynn on one of the cots and started tending to her.

Meanwhile, Soul, who had been watching her crew, turned her gaze back to Little Star.

"Star, what happened?"

Little Star took a deep breath.

"We were out and I needed a drink. We pulled up to a water tower, but it wouldn't give any water! Miss Kate-Lynn climbed up and managed to fix it, but she slipped and fell! She hasn't said anything, but Mister George thinks she'll be alright."

Bo, who had been woken up when Little Star barreled in, looked over to the tank engine.

"What was wrong with it?"

Little Star jumped a little when he spoke. She thought he was still sleeping.

"I don't know. They didn't say."

Soul sighed.

"Knowing Kate-Lynn, she should be fine. I wouldn't worry too much, Star."

Just then, a clap of thunder sounded. Little Star gasped at how loud it seemed. She whimpered, moving forward slightly to press her buffers against Soul's. Soul chuckled.

"Scared?"

Little Star hummed a 'yes.'

"Mister George says a big storm is coming. We can't go anywhere for the night."

A flash lit up the shed for a moment before more thunder sounded, much louder than before. Little Star shut her eyes tightly and moved forward again. Bo chuckled, gently letting off steam in Little Star's direction, hoping to comfort her. Soul looked out the window, where the rain had started to fall much harder. She whispered to her younger sister.

"Shhh... It's okay... You're alright..."

Just as Little Star had gotten calmed down and backed up a little, another flash lit up everything. Lightning struck an old tree near the shed. The thunder roared as the tree fell over onto the tracks! Little Star screamed, racing forward into Soul. She was so scared, Soul was almost pushed back! Soul tried to get her sister calmed down again, but it was hard when she was a little scared herself. All of them were worried over this latest lightning strike, even Bo. That's when Soul came up with an idea.

"Star, would you like to play a game?"

Little Star, shaking in fright, opened her eyes hesitantly.

"W-W-W-What s-sort of game?"

Soul thought for a moment before responding.

"A guessing game."

Little Star's interest was now caught. Her shaking lessened and her gaze turned curious.

"How do we play it?"

Soul gave Little Star a reassuring smile.

"I'm going to think of something, and you and Bo will have to guess what I'm thinking. But, there's a catch. You two can only ask me yes or no questions."

Bo spoke up, his eyes holding a glint of recognition.

"I think I remember something like that. It was a game called '20 Questions'. It was just like that, but you could only ask 20 questions. I heard a couple of children playing it at the museum."

Soul glanced over at Bo.

"Exactly. Except you can ask as many questions as you need."

Little Star started off.

"Um... Are you thinking of an engine?"

Soul chuckled.

"Now I almost thought Bo would ask me that! But, no. I'm not."

Little Star asked again.

"Are you thinking of a person?"

Soul gave a small smile.

"No. Not a person."

Little Star looked confused.

"Not a person, or an engine...," she whispered.

Bo asked the next question.

"Is it a place?"

"Yes," Soul replied.

Little Star's eyes lit up a little.

"Is it on the island?"

Soul thought for a moment.

"Sort of yes and sort of no."

Little Star had a face that looked shocked and baffled at the same time. Soul couldn't help but laugh at seeing it. Bo smiled a little.

"Soul, can it be found other places?"

Soul turned her gaze to Bo when she heard him say her name.

"Yes, it can. Not everywhere, but in a lot of places."

Little Star thought hard.

"Is this place dry?"

Soul smirked, deciding to give a sort of clue.

"No, the opposite of dry."

Little Star took the clue.

"The sea is the opposite of dry. Is that what you're thinking of?"

Soul beamed.

"Yes!"

Little Star jumped, a huge smile across her face.

"I got it!"

Soul and Bo started laughing so hard, Bo had tears coming out of his eyes. Soul somehow managed to speak.

"Yes, Star... You did!"

"Can I try one now, Soul?"

Soul smiled to her younger sister.

"Alright, Star. Your turn."

Little Star thought hard for a moment before looking up at Soul. Soul took this as her cue to start asking questions.

"Are you thinking of an engine?"

"Yes."

Soul was a little surprised at Little Star's quick answer, but continued nonetheless.

"Is it an engine you know?"

"Yes."

"Is it an engine _I_ know?"

"Yes."

"Are you just answering 'yes' to every question I ask?"

"No."

Bo burst out into laughter. Star almost looked hurt.

"What? What'd I do?"

Soul shot Bo a hard glare, even though he couldn't see it.

"Nothing, Star. Bo's just being silly. Anyways, it's an engine both of us know..."

George, who had been listening his whole time, had an idea of who Little Star was thinking of, but remained silent. He wanted to see if Soul could guess.

"Is it Autumn?"

"No."

"Is it Bo?"

"No."

That's when Soul figured it out.

"Is it me?"

"Yes."

Soul didn't say anything; she was touched. Little Star, however, took Soul's silence a completely different way.

"Did I do something wrong?"

Soul seemed to snap out of a trance.

"No! Not at all! But... Me?"

Little Star looked confused.

"You didn't say I couldn't think of you."

Bo smirked.

"She's right, Soul. You said nothing about thinking of the guesser."

Soul sent Bo a playful glare.

"Shut up, Bo."

They played the guessing game until Little Star finally fell asleep to the rhythm of the rain, still pressed up against Soul. Bo was next to drift off, as he had been working hard all day. Soul spoke with George for a moment before he went to sleep. Kate-Lynn would be alright, although she would have a splitting headache when she woke up the next morning. After George had settled in his cot, Soul watched the window, listening to the sounds of the rain and those who she loved sleeping. Eventually, she drifted off.

The next morning, Soul and Bo woke up to Kate- Lynn complaining of her headache and George explaining how it came into being, as well as exactly why she should be a bit more careful when climbing up water towers. Soul chuckled as she heard them, then looked over to Little Star, who was still fast asleep. Bo smiled.

"How is she?"

"Sleeping, thank goodness. That was a rough storm last night, wasn't it?"

"You can say that again."

"I won't, though."

Just then, Little Star started to stir. She briefly opened her eyes before squeezing them firmly shut.

"Too bright..."

Soul smirked.

"I can't turn down the sun, Star."

Little Star only moaned and squeezed her eyes tighter. Bo chuckled.

"Still a little sleepy, are we?"

Little Star didn't reply. Eventually, however, she gave up on trying to go back to sleep and opened her eyes with a huge yawn.

"Morning, Soul."

Soul came forwards, planting a kiss on Little Star's forehead.

"Morning, Star."

When the doors to the shed were opened, after George managed to drag Kate-Lynn out of her cot, they found the old tree laying across the tracks. It took a while, but eventually they managed to cut it up and move it someplace else. Bo left for work with a kiss goodbye for Soul, which her sister made a face at, and a cheeky weesh of steam towards Little Star. Originally, Soul was going to go out for a run today, but after Kate-Lynn's fall and the big storm, the cousins decided that both Soul and Little Star would stay put for the day. After a while, Little Star glanced shyly over to her sister.

"Soul?"

"Yes?"

"Can we play the game again?"

Soul was surprised for a moment, but smiled.

"Of course, Star."

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 **And, the end! What did you guys think?**


End file.
